IIM-A plans course in corporate governance

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is considering a proposal of starting a course on corporate governance for company directors.

However, IIM-A officials apprehend that such programmes would require corporates to sponsor their managers to study the course. In turn, the managers will return to the companies to implement measures that the company might be trying to avoid.

However, corporate governance will be a compulsory subject in the one-year MBA programme that IIM-A proposes to begin with effect from the 2006 academic year. This will be done as the MBA programme will be for managers already working in corporates.

"A proposal of starting a short term course on corporate governance for directors of the board of companies is being considered. These will be short term courses that will be run on a sponsorship basis. Meanwhile, the one-year MBA programme will have a separate subject on corporate governance," an official of IIM-A said.

An official of IIM-A said: "The success of this programme will however depend largely on how corporates accept the concept of corporate governance. In all probability, a manager, after doing a course on corporate governance, will go back to the company and point out all the errors or drawbacks of the board of directors in running the company properly."

As of now, lessons on corporate governance are ingrained in most of the regular courses taught to students at the institute, especially in those course that involve finance.

Separate case studies are taken up in classrooms, where students discuss how a particular decision on corporate governance affected the company positively or adversely.

It may be said that Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has co-ordinated programmes aimed at bringing in professionalism in both the bureaucracy as well as the elected representatives.

Sessions have been held, where ministers of the Narendra Modi government were taught lessons in corporate governance. Also, bureaucrats have taken lessons at IIM-A on good governance under the state government's `karmayogi' scheme.